


Water

by kam3026



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lifeguard Lance (Voltron), M/M, Protective Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 07:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7835611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kam3026/pseuds/kam3026
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I am brimming with angst today so I banged out this piece of crap. Sorry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Water

Water. Water and Keith did not get along. The last time he had actually swam, he was about six. And he almost drowned. He doesn't clearly remember who saved him and in all honesty, didn't care. What he did care about was the fact that his friends had dragged his ass to the beach and he was standing on a dock, Pidge and Hunk in the water, pushing him to get in. Keith swallowed his pride and stepped back a little. He took a running leap into the water and… it was cold. It was colder than he expected. His limbs froze from the unexpected shock and he was sinking. He could hear muffled laughter followed by yelling, as he struggled to get above. This is stupid, I’m sixteen, I shouldn’t be drowning, Keith thought. He finally got his head above water, coughing and spluttering, trying to catch a glimpse of Hunk or Pidge before he sunk under the water again. Keith realized that breathing underwater wasn’t an option and hoped he could get up again. Or someone would come and get him. Where were Hunk and Pidge? Why weren’t they helping him? 

Lance looked up from his phone when Pidge and Hunk started yelling at him. Like full blown panicked yelling. They were definitely trying to get his attention. And he immediately knew what was happening. He jumped off of his lifeguard chair and off of the deck. Lance scanned the water for someone and no one looked in need of help. Why was this water so cold? Honestly, it’s an ocean… Lance thought. He finally spotted someone a bit far off from where he was, trying to get up and getting sucked back into the water. He made his way swiftly to the spot, and as fast as he was, it still took almost a minute to get to the kid. Lance’s heart was racing, he needed to stay calm. Please just calm down, he’s probably going to be fine. Lance told himself. Once he was at the spot, he went under, looking for the person. Lance spotted the person, Keith. sinking slowly, and hardly conscious. “How long has he even been under?” Lance thought. He pulled him up and rested him on his tube and pulled him as fast as he possibly could to shore. He laid him down on the sand on his back and just yelled for someone to call 911. But Lance continued, resting his ear on Keith’s chest to check for breathing, which he wasn’t. Pulse was next, he still had a pulse. Giving breaths. Repeat. Nothing nothing nothing. When the ambulance arrived, there was barely anything and Lance was losing his cool. 

Reality is a funny thing. It’s tied tightly around you like ribbons or strings. Keith was barely alive. Lance pulled at his own hair, ashamed of himself for not doing better, for not saving him. Lance may have acted like he hated Keith, but in reality, he didn’t. Their rivalry had a complicated friendship twisted inside of it. People kept assuring him it wasn’t his fault.  
“You did everything you could.” “It’s not your fault don’t worry.” “Things happen.” Things happen. What was that even supposed to mean. Another boy, Matt arrived later. Lance figured Matt was Shiro’s boyfriend, based on the way they acted around each other. And then, after hours upon hours of stress and tears.  
“He’s ok, for now.” 

The ribbons of reality kept loosening and tightening around Keith. When Shiro was finally allowed to visit Keith with Matt, he lost it. All those years, being this strong, wall of a man, he let his wall crumble and fall here. It was a hard sight. Your own child. Half dead with only the support of machines to keep him from falling into endless slumber. Matt was trying hard not to break down as well. He started living with Shiro and Keith very shortly after Shiro adopted him. Pidge and Hunk came in after, Hunk leaving soon after, it was too much to look at and take in. Shiro was still deciding on whether or not Lance should see him. And not because of the whole lifeguard thing. It was because although Lance and Keith had this sort of friendly rivalry, Lance loved Keith a whole lot. And seeing Keith like this might just break him. In the end, Shiro decided it was okay. Lance cautiously walked in. Sitting in a chair next to Keith. And he stared. Lance took Keith’s limp hand and brought it to his face. Shiro’s fears were becoming a reality. Lance was breaking. Shattering. His entire wall of cool destroyed. Finally he started crying, apologizing in between sobs for this. For not being good enough. 

Reality was almost lost the next day. Alarms and buzzers going off as Keith’s breathing became shallow and harsh. Doctors swarmed around him, trying to figure out what was happening. It was simple and easily fixed, but life-threatening. It’s weird how the smallest things can literally save someone’s life. When Lance entered, he noticed more things supporting Keith. Tubes, they had been there yesterday, but Lance was too busy crying to notice. There was a mask now though. Lance wanted nothing more than to hold Keith in his arms and make everything better. On second thought, he wanted it the other way around. 

Reality tightened itself around Keith the day after. The tubes were back. Lance continued visiting daily for hours, just to talk to Keith. Even if he couldn’t hear. Allura visited too with Coran. The two sat with Keith for a little, Allura stroking his hair back as if she were his mother. Which, in a way, she was. Well, she was the closest thing he had to a mother.  
“Keith, buddy, please just… just do something. I have things that I need to tell you.” Lance was back.  
“Like, how I acted like I hated you so much to see you pissed off ‘cause it’s cute and I tried, I really tried to make you laugh with stupid pick-up lines and puns, because I love your laugh and your smile.”  
“And… I act like I do because I like you a lot. Like I can’t even believe I’m saying this wow.”  
“Just please stay with me.”

Reality faltered and reattached itself to Keith many times in the past three weeks or so, but today it wrapped itself around Keith’s heart and stuck. Keith finally opened his eyes and heard a beeping. A doctor was with him and immediately checking him out. Tests and tests and more tests. Then, when those were finally done, they needed to do some sort of operation just to check over some things, but that could wait. Lance came running in.  
“Keith, Keith, Keith,” Lance breathed, cupping Keith’s face in his hands as if he would disappear and never return.  
“Are you okay?” Keith asked.  
“What? Of course, why on earth are you asking me that?” Lance said.  
“Well, normally you’re trying out every way you know to get under my skin, but I honestly have no clue what’s happening right now,” Keith said.  
Lance let out something that sounded like a laugh and a sigh mixed. “Keith, you won’t believe how worried I was about you.”

Lance and Keith sat and talked for an hour. Something that had never happened. Feelings were shared and tears were shed. Soon after, Shiro came in with Matt, and had a very similar reaction that Lance did. As did Pidge and Hunk. Keith was to stay one more night after the operation and was released soon after. The first thing he did was go out for coffee with Lance. They walked out with their fingers laced together and huge dorky smiles on their faces.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed this!


End file.
